With the advent and expansion of broadband Internet access, end-users now have access to a larger amount of bandwidth than ever before. A typical access pipe provides a user with a bandwidth in excess of 5 megabits per second (mbps), a number that increases significantly each year. In an effort to harness this bandwidth, many content providers now offer high-quality streaming media. Users can now stream high definition (HD) video and Internet-based “radio,” conduct videoconferencing, and run similar high-bandwidth applications.
The core of the service provider's network, where costly, high performance equipment is located, can accommodate a massive amount of bandwidth. A typical service provider network is therefore capable of supporting these high-bandwidth applications. As the network moves closer to the end-users, however, it necessarily becomes geographically dispersed, making it cost prohibitive to extend a large amount of bandwidth to every user. This so-called “last mile” problem is exacerbated as the number of users taking advantage of high-bandwidth applications increases.
Consider, as an example, a typical user who obtains streaming media over the Internet using a variety of devices. Such a user might stream high definition (HD) video to an Internet-enabled TV streaming box, listen to online radio using a personal computer, access Internet-enabled DVD content, stream media from/to a game console, and access media using a Wi-Fi enabled mobile handset. Furthermore, in some situations, one or more users may be accessing a number of these devices simultaneously, such that the total bandwidth required by those devices needs to be provided through a single access point.
As the number of simultaneous sessions increases, it is common for a user to experience interruptions or degradations in quality of one or more of the sessions, thereby affecting the quality of experience (QoE) of the user. For example, a user may notice audible or visible flaws in the signal, including, for example, lower quality audio or video, dropping of the signal to a lower-quality encoding, skipping, and total loss of the connection. Such problems affect the user's enjoyment of the content and increase the likelihood that the user will become dissatisfied with the service provider.
Thus, it would be desirable to implement a solution that manages the establishment and maintenance of “premium” sessions, especially those of high-bandwidth applications, such as streaming video and audio. In particular, it would be desirable to ensure that the establishment of new sessions does not negatively impact existing sessions, such that the user's QoE is not affected by overburdening of the access point. This would be particularly desirable for ensuring the QoE of existing premium sessions. Other desirable aspects will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification.